Katsuya Nomura's 3-year contract ends at the end of the season. And at 73, he's certainly no spring chicken. But the question on every Eagle's fan's mind right now is simply this: Will Nomura return next season to continue what he has started with the Eagles?

Jiji Press is reporting that Nomura has more or less accepted an extension and that all that remains is ironing out the details. Good news for Eagles fans. And I think part of the reason why he's open to returning next year has to do with how the season has gone this year.

2008 isn't over yet, but at 51-66-2 with 25 games remaining and a 2-8 record over their last 10 games, it would seem more likely that they won't be finishing with a better record than last season (67-75-2). In order to tie what they accomplished last season, they would need to go 16-9 -- 6 games against the Softbank Hawks, 5 against the Seibu Lions, 4 against the Nippon Ham Fighters, 3 against the Lotte Marines, and 2 against the Orix Buffaloes.

As far as I know, the fans and media love him. He’s kind of a curmudgeon, but I think that’s where his appeal lies.

I also know that a ton of people love his quotes after the game. I think a handful of them have been uploaded to YouTube.

As for the players… I think they love him as well. Not only has he left his mark as a player (657 homers, 2901 hits, and 1988 rbis), but he’s also left his mark as a manager (3 Championship rings and 5 first place finishes). Nomura’s record as a manager actually isn’t that great (1475-1488-74), but prior to becoming the manager for the Rakuten Eagles, his record was 1310-1262-66. Factor in that he actually enjoys taking losing teams and trying to turn them around and even that losing record isn’t all that bad.